Will I pay stamp duty under £250,000?

A two-year stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers up to £250,000 has been announced. We answer your questions on who qualifies and whether you can dodge stamp duty too?

Winner or loser: How have you fared in the stamp duty shakeout

Is the £250,000 stamp duty removal only for first-time buyers?

Yes. The Government has specified that only first-time buyers will qualify for this break. And that does not mean the mortgage industry's rather loose definition of a first-time buyer, i.e. someone not buying and selling at the same time.

The Treasury confirmed to This is Money that this will apply strictly only to those who have never previously owned a home. Everyone else will have to continue to pay stamp duty at 1% from £125,000 to £250,000.

When does it start and how long does it last?

The stamp duty tax break started at midnight on and runs until the 25 March 2012.

I sold my house and have been renting – am I a first-time buyer?

No. The HMRC tax notes state it is only those who have not owned a property before who qualify, so if you took a break from the property market you still have to pay stamp duty.

Can I pretend to be a first-time buyer?

You can try, but that is tax evasion. The Treasury says that when your solicitor does the conveyancing work, you will be asked whether you qualify for first-time buyer relief.

All these documents have to be signed off by your solicitor and if they know you are not a first-time buyer they are highly unlikely to risk being caught letting you tick the box. (If they are willing to do this you may need to ask some serious questions about your solicitor's integrity.)

This means it will be very hard for people to dodge the tax if they are buying and selling, unless they use two solicitors.

Furthermore, the taxman will be checking up on this. And remember, in these cash-strapped times cracking down on minor tax evasion has become a flourishing business at HMRC. A combination of Land Registry records and electoral roll could catch you out, or a simple check of your credit file to see if you have previously held a mortgage.

No. Stamp duty is charged on completion of a sale and so you should not have to pay the tax if you are a first-time buyer purchasing a property under £250,000 who is between exchange and completion.

I bought a home last month, can I claim my stamp duty back?

Sadly not. It would have been too much like joined up thinking for the Government to actually run the two stamp duty holidays together. So, instead we have the ridiculous situation whereby there was a break up to £175,000 until 31 December 2009, then a gap of less than three months before another break was introduced until 25 March 2012.

If you are a first-time buyer who bought between January and now and paid stamp duty, you can feel rightly aggrieved but you won't be getting a cheque for the money back.

I'm divorced and buying another home - by myself – do I qualify?

No. You have previously been a property owner and so you are no longer a first-time buyer.

I've never owned a property before but my partner has, do we qualify?

No. The Treasury says that if you are buying with a partner both of you have to have never owned a property before to qualify for the £250,000 stamp duty break.

I'm French, do I pay stamp duty?

Non. As long as you are a first-time buyer and have never owned a property here, in France, or anywhere else in the world, then you will also qualify for stamp duty relief below £250,000.

All those from EU members states should qualify for stamp duty relief up to the £250,000, as long as this is their first home anywhere.

What about this new £1m-plus band?

The Budget also brought in a new stamp duty band of 5% from April 2011 - permanently. It will raise stamp duty beyond £1m from at least £40,000 to at least £50,000.

Any other questions

If you have any more stamp duty questions, put them in reader comments below and we will endeavour to answer them.